Klarinet Archive - Posting 000204.txt from 1995/03

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Mouthpiece question for any sax players out there...
Date: Tue, 7 Mar 1995 17:12:28 -0500

Hello - I'm a woodwind doubler who has been lurking on KLARINET for a
while now, but your questions about sax mouthpieces "pushed my button" as
the saying goes.

My main instrument is bassoon, followed closely by sax, then oboe, flute
and clarinet, although clarinet was my first instrument. I teach at the
University of Evansville (have been for 28 years!). I primarily teach
bassoon and saxophone, but have also done oboe and flute here at times.
I play principal bassoon in the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, and
also usually get to play any saxophone solos which come up there (next
month I will get to do the solo on "The Old Castle" in "Pictures at an
Exhibition.") I also direct the jazz program here, and gig around on sax
and other woodwinds as time permits.

I once was playing in a house band in a local hotel which was backing
shows, and decided that I would have to have a mouthpiece which would
give me more projection, as I was always competing with 6 to 8 brass,
loud drums, bass and guitar amps and a sound system being operated by
someone who must have been nearly completely deaf. So, I went to the
woodwind one weekend and played on probably 100 mouthpieces. I went
there expecting to come away with a metal mouthpiece, either Meyer or
Berg Larsen, but the experience confirmed something for me that I had
heard for years. For many people, metal mouthpieces are just not very
much fun to play. A hard rubber mouthpiece tends to feel al little more
forgiving or comfortable, and makes you feel that you are producing a
"warmer" tone. It's especially a problem to try to get a blend in a sax
section when some of the players are using metal mouthpieces and some
others are using rubber ones.

I know that many people use metal mouthpieces quite successfully, but for
me, the sound of the instrument is just much more satisfying with a
rubber one. I think you can get about as much projection as you are able
to support with a good quality rubber mouthpiece. It just depends on the
size of the tip opening, the length of the lay, and size and shape of the
chamber, etc. And also, what reed you are using with it.

And this brings up the difficulty. I don't think anyone can tell you
what kind of mouthpiece is going to produce the results you want. You
really need to go to a place where there is a LARGE selection of
mouthpieces to try, and you have to go through them to find one which
feels comfortable and which produces the tone your ear wants to hear.

If you had a dozen mouthpieces, all by the same manufacturer, and all
with the same designation as to dimensions, you would have 12 different
mouthpieces. There is just no way to tell what is going to work for you.

The procedure to use is: take three mouthpieces, try them and find out
which is the best one. Put it aside, return the other two. Then take
three more, and do the same. Then take three more, and go through the
procedure a third time. Now, take the three you have selected and reduce
those to one. Now you have the best mouthpiece for you, from a group of
nine. Now, do the entire same thing two more times, and finally try the
three remaining ones. Now your have reduced 27 mouthpieces to one. You
can do this as many more times as you can stand! What you must NEVER do
is go back to a mouthpiece which you previously rejected, thinking
"well, maybe this one was better than I thought when I first tried it."
If you do that, you will become hopelessly confused.

So, after doing that for two days, what did I select? For alto: Berg
Larsen hard rubber, 90/0. For tenor: Berg Larsen hard rubber, 110/1.
On both of these I use Rico Royal reeds, #2 1/2. It has been my
experience that the Rico Royals have a little more "bite," or
"edge" to the sound, which can help with the projection or
penetration we need for some kinds of playing. Remember, this is for
jazz and show-type music only. I have a completely different setup and
different reeds for "legit" playing.

I can't say that the same set-up would work for you, but there is no way
to say what might be better for you without the benefit of a test
procedure such as I have outlined above.

I'm afraid this isn't the answer you wanted, and no doubt you will get a
variety of opinions. We all want a mouthpiece/reed combination which
will give us the sound we want with the most efficient use of energy.
Now if someone would only invent a mouthpiece with a built-in "wrong note
filter!" :-)

Dr. Edwin Lacy
University of Evansville
1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722